Why 12 and 13yos from Austin discussed gun violence in D.C.

AUSTIN (KXAN) — After school on a Tuesday at the Boys and Girls Club facility in Meadowbrook – a low-income housing community in south Austin – sisters Julissa and Jaritza Topar Mendez, 13 and 12 years old, acted like your typical sister-sister duo.

“You copied me,” Jaritza said, when older sister Julissa said her favorite food was chicken alfredo.

This conversation transitioned into a rehash of that morning’s argument about how much ice one sister was supposed to put in the other’s water bottle.

“OK, we’ve got to be professional here,” Julissa eventually said, putting a stop to the banter so the interview could go on.

Sure, they engaged in a standard sisterly squabble, but when it comes to feeling safe in their community, they don’t have the same luxury many families may take for granted.

“We’re trying to prevent violence from happening so people feel safe and comfortable going outside,” Julissa said.

The sisters are part of a group of students who put together a presentation titled “Gun Violence: The Impact on Meadowbrook” and presented it to corporate Boys and Girls Club reps in Washington D.C. this year. They also got the chance to share their work with Congressman Greg Casar.

In that project, a 12-year-old resident is quoted saying “I do not feel safe because I’m always outside, and that risks the chances I get shot more easily.”

“No child should be a witness to any kind of criminal activity,” said Sylvia Calderon, the chief operating officer for the Housing Authority of the City of Austin (HACA). “Sadly, we’ve all seen an uptick in criminal activity throughout parts of Austin. Being able to articulate the things that they have seen, the activity they have seen, and putting it down so thoughtfully… I’m blown away.”

The children’s project opened with gun violence statistics. It then mapped out their specific safety concerns and what they did to address those, which included meetings with HACA, District 3 Council Member Jose Velasquez and representatives from ATX Peace, the city’s primary community violence intervention (CVI) group.

While we didn’t get into the weeks about Meadowbrook violence during our interview with Julissa and Jaritza, Julissa summed out how this initiative has shaped her.

“It taught me how to be a little and like for the little kids I can tell them to not argue as much and to be polite with their words,” she said. “I want to be polite to everyone so I can put them in a good mood and make their day and they can be kind to other people.”